Khanh Linh's birthday

Tomorrow is my niece's birthday. But her parents (my sister and bother -in-law) invited us to the 2nd birthday party. She looks cute, lovely and active and she looks like her father very much. She can speak just a little Vietnamese, but she sounds beautifully. I think we get on well together. I like playing with her. I and my son wanted to buy a dress for her but her uncle liked to buy her a bottle of perfume as suggested by his sister. No problem. It is really wonderful to give someone the present they like. (In this case, my niece's mother felt happy with the present.) We bought a bottle of eau de toillete for children. After picking up my son at the art class we went to my niece's flat, where my family used to live. We had lunch there. And then, we had desserts with cake and fruit. And the big family sang the birthday song to wish her a happy birthday.

No one took a camera so no beautiful pictures of my niece were taken. I just remembered my Nokia could take photos. So I took it out of my handbag and asked my husband to take this photo of us: my niece and me. She was holding and playing with a cherry from the cake, and did not do a 'model' job. No one could make her look at the 'camera' and smile.

Summer coming

Today is 23rd March. A week to go is April. According to the Lunar year, summer is comming. The weather is changing from wet and humid into hot and windy. The sun shines brightly. The sky is blue and clear. The trees are full of green leaves. And florists sell a lot of lily flowers. I feel the time of cross-season by having a headache yesterday. In the morning, I went out wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt. When going along Linh Dam road, I felt a bit cold. ( The road runs around the lake). I knew that my body was not prepared for summer. At noon I went to my mum's place, I had a terrible headache. Luckily, my mum gave me some panadols and rubbed out the cold for me. Then I slept for a while. When I woke up, still felt very awful and vomitted. After that, I felt much better. Late in the afternoon I could ride my motorbike back home.
I like summer because I don't have to work for at least 2 months, a long summer holiday. I don't like summer because I stay at home for so long.

My weight

Wow, 51kilos said the scale on the shore of Hoan Kiem Lake. What an 'ideal' weight. Women often get fatter after they have children. Some become very very fat. I am different. After having my son, I became as thin as I was before his birth. I used to weigh 47 kilos. My family want me to be fatter. They are afraid that I am sick or ill. But I feel satisfied with my weight. It is much easier for me to choose clothes and of course I look more active and younger. Now, 51 kilos, much more than I expect. When looking at my latest photos, I can't believe it, a 'fat' woman. I hope my weight stops at that level.

Tell him

I choose the name of the song by Celine Dion (one of my favorite singers) for the title of this post. One friend of mine gave me some songs few days ago. Tonight, I listened to this song and found it so sweet. I decided to post the lyrics and the link (Click here) to share with other people who love music like me.

I'm scared

So afraid to show I care

Will he think me weak

If I tremble when I speak

Oooh - what if

There's another one he's thinking of

Maybe he's in love

I'd feel like a fool

Life can be so cruel

I don't know what to do

I've been there

With my heart out in my hand

But what you must understand

You can't let the chance

To love him pass you by

Tell him

Tell him that the sun and moon

Rise in his eyes

Reach out to him

And whisper

Tender words so soft and sweet

I'll hold him close to feel his heart beat

Love will be the gift you give yourself

Touch him (ooohh)

With the gentleness you feel inside(I feel it)

Your love can't be denied

The truth will set you free

You'll have what's meant to be

All in time you'll see

ooohh

I love him(then show him)

Of that much I can be sure(hold him close to you)

I don't think I could endure

If I let him walk away

When I have so much to say

Tell him

Tell him that the sun and moon

Rise in his eyes

Reach out to him

And whisper

Tender words so soft and sweet

Hold him close to feel his heart beat

Love will be the gift you give yourself

Love is light that surely glows

In the hearts of those who know

It's a steady flame that grows (oh ooh oh oh)

Feed the fire with all the passion you can show

Tonight love will assume its place

This memory time cannot erase

Your faith will lead love where it has to go

Tell him

Tell him that the sun and moon

Rise in his eyes

Reach out to him

And whisper

Whisper words so soft and sweet

Hold him close to feel his heart beat

Love will be the gift you give yourself

ooh ooh ooh

Never let him go

Trip to Thailand

I went to Thailand for three days from 7 to 9 March with my friend. I have never been to Thailand before. So the trip brought me some experiences that I cannot forget. I did not have to do anything before the trip: no booking air tickets, no making room resevations, no changing money into Baht, no calling a taxi to the airport. What I did before travelling was to pack my suitcase and take some medicine to prevent me from being carsick and airsick. I think I was spoiled.

My flight took off at 10.45 but I left for the airport quite early, at 8 am in case I got stuck in traffic jams. It took me about an hour to get to Noi Bai, and another hour to check in and go through the passport control. Finally, I was onboard, sitting next to the window. We flew with Thai Airways. I found the colors of seats impressive, typically Thai. They were the colors of orchids. The flight attendants were goodlooking and helpful. The food was OK. Nothing to complain about this airways. But I had a problem with my ears when the plane took off and landed. My friend explained the problem to me and tried to help me deal with the air pressure change. After about one and a half hour we arrived in Bangkok. The name of the airport was quite long. In fact, I did not remember it. It was hot, about 35 degrees. The sun shone during my stay there. Lucky me. The airport was so big. After getting out of the terminal, we caught a public taxi to our hotel in a busy shopping area. The road from the airport to the downtown was wide and no traffic jams at all. However, in the city, you had to wait as long as 5 minutes at the traffic lights. On the way to the hotel, I found so many high rise buildings, which reminded me of Jakatar. And when I was nearly exhausted because of the airsick and carsick, we arrived at our hotel, a five star one which was near shopping malls. My first day in Bangkok started.

We changed clothes and went out to tour the city. Luckily, my friend knew this city very well, so we had no difficulty finding shopping malls or using public transport in Bangkok. We went to some expensive malls. They sold famous brand products there. I bought a bottle of perfume, Elizabeth Arden, in one of those malls. We used Skytrain to travel from one mall to another. In Hanoi, there was not this kind of transportation. I learned to buy tickets and use them. This was a new thing to me. In the evening, we went to a restaurant on top a building. The sky was clear and the moon shone brightly. It was so exciting to look at the city by night from the height. Bangkok was beautiful in the evening. And so wonderful, so romantic to sit under the moonlight, talk and enjoy the food. My friend said that it was one of the most expensive restaurants. Wow, it was worth visiting. Then we visited the Night Market.

My second day in Bangkok was started with a big breakfast on the fourth floor of the hotel. I could not find Vietnamese food (of course not) except rice soup. So I tried rice soup and some other dishes and a glass of kiwi fruit juice and a cup of coffee. Then I made a call to my son in Hanoi. After that, we visited the Grand Palace. It was really really hot.We travelled by Skytrain to the pier where we caught a boat to the Palace. The river was very clean, different from rivers in Vietnam. From the boat, I could see temples and high buildings on both of the banks. And after 30 minutes travelling on the river, we reached our destination: the Grand Palace. Although we were aware of the dress code when entering the palace, I had to borrow one shirt to cover my shoulder ( I was wearing a dress without sleeves which we thought it was OK). You can see in my photo above how strange my clothes were. We walked around the palace with a lot of other tourists. And I had my photos taken there a lot. We stayed until after noon. We took a taxi back to downtown. Unfortunetly, the taxi driver could not speak English, so he took the wrong road. When we saw a sign of the metro station we asked him to stop and we took the underground. It was also the first time I travelled underground. We got off at a shopping mall and went to a Vietnamese cuisine restaurant. I had a wonderful lunch there. Then we went back to our hotel for a nap. At four, we went to the pool. And shopping again. I bought my favorite brand handbag: Bonia. In Hanoi, you can buy Bonia products in Vincom, Trang Tien and Parkson. In Bangkok, it was not popular. My friend had to google it on the internet first. Finally, we found Bonia in a very small corner of a big shopping mall. In the evening, we had dinner in three places. In the first restaurant, we had mineral water, no food. In the second restaurant, beer and canberry juice. In the third restaurant, Chinese food.

My last day in Bangkok started early. We woke up at 5.30. After breakfast, we went to the photo shop to have photos developed. We went to another shopping mall, where I bought my last souvenir: Triumph. Then we drank Starbucks coffee. It was delicious. The first time I drank this coffee was in Jarkata and now the second time. I tried Caramel. I hope in the near future Starbucks coffee will appear in Hanoi. Oh, we also visited a mall which they sold a lot of computers and softwares. After shopping, we had lunch in Miss Saigon restaurant and went back to the photo shop to pick up the photos and came back to the hotel to check out. At 2 pm, we left for the airport. The trip finished.

My Sunday

I work from Monday to Saturday, so Sunday is my 'one-day weekend'. What do you usually do at the weekend? Most people will relax by watching TV, cooking a big lunch or dinner for family, visiting relatives, meeting friends and doing chores which they have no time to do during the week. I spend my Sunday doing so many things, too. However, I like taking my son to an art class most.

We set off at 9 am and it takes me about 30 minutes to get to downtown. While waiting to pick him up (around 11.15 am) I usually go for a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake, drinking coffee or going to some bookstores downtown. It is a really good time for me. I can enjoy the peaceful moments in such a beautiful place in the centre of the city: fresh air, green trees, and a healthy walk around.
After picking up my son, we often go straight home. (Sometimes, I take him to visit my mother on the other side of the Red River). On the way home, I buy books or toys for him, but not very often. My son likes KFC, so we call in one in Ba Trieu Street, but not very often, either. When we get home, I like having a short nap, about one and a half hours. I sleep not enough at night, just six hours.
Sunday is when I iron clothes and polish shoes for the next week. As a teacher, I think I need to wear smartly. Besides, my husband is a manager, he often meets customers and business partners, he needs to wear smartly, too. Shoes should be cleaned and polished. Shirts, skirts and dresses should be well-pressed. And I am responsible for this.
I also spend my Sunday preparing for my teaching week, writing my blog and chatting.
I enjoy my Sunday very much.
I post here the latest photo of me in the garden on the bank of Hoan Kiem lake. It was taken this Sunday morning by my friend, who was going for a walk, too. The friend found the sculpture impressive and suggested that I should have a photo. No problem, smile ....